Posted in: Movies, Star Wars | Tagged: adam driver, carrie fisher, daisy ridley, han solo, harrison ford, Ian McDiarmid, Kylo Ren, leia organa, lucasfilm, Luke Skywalker, mark hamill, palpatine, rey, star wars, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the emperor, The Rise of Skywalker

"Star Wars": 5 Predictions for "The Rise of Skywalker"

With the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker out, there's much to absorb. What's going to happen is anyone's guess. Given what's released, here are five predictions that may happen in the final film of the Skywalker Saga.

Harrison Ford Cameo

There are some things J.J. Abrams wants to keep tight to the chest and this qualifies. As far as escaping death or becoming a ghost is concerned, don't hold your breath. We could see the cameo take one or two forms. First, which is the most likely scenario is a flashback sequence from the repurposed footage of Carrie Fisher that went unused for The Force Awakens.

Abrams promised no stone left unturned in TRoS. We may finally see how Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Fisher) were as parents to the young Ben Solo (Adam Driver) before sending him off to train with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). It's also possible Ford shot a scene with Hamill talking about Ben's use of the Force.

Bringing Ford back into the fold provides a more proper closure for the original trilogy stars. It also addresses one of the bigger complains of the sequel trilogy of never seeing a reunion between Han and Luke or the trio of Han, Luke, and Leia together again in some form.

C-3PO Will Live On, but Not Physically

As Solo: A Star Wars Story showed, droids can have second lives as part of a greater computer system. L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) suffered mortal wounds in a gunfight. Thanks to the efforts of Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando () Donald Glover), she lives on as part of the Millennium Falcon.

The ominous line delivered by C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) indicates a goodbye while being hooked up to a machine. While one can interpret that he's saying goodbye as the end to a story, the more likely scenario is him making some noble sacrifice only he can make. Also, it's no secret Daniels retired from the role and the character never served a purpose in the sequel trilogy.

With BB-8 as the droid of the sequel trilogy, R2-D2's chapter could come to a close too.

Emperor Manifests a Physical Form

Force ghosts is nothing new as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) guided Luke to the planet of Degobah to seek out Yoda (Frank Oz) in the fifth Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back. He also provided closure to Luke's destiny to face his father, Darth Vader. When the films last left the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) down the reactor shaft of the second Death Star meeting his demise. The trailers don't hide his influence on the events of the film. The question is how. If Kenobi and Yoda can be force ghosts, why can't Palpatine?

Will Palpatine's voice be in Rey (Daisy Ridley) and/or Kylo Ren's ear? Will Rey and Ren's final fight resemble anything like Return of the Jedi? Palpatine sat in his throne room while Luke tried to maintain his composure to get Vader to turn back to the light in their final fight. Will Palpatine's ghost appear in a similar fashion?

Lando Will End Up with the Millennium Falcon

The Millennium Falcon was originally Lando's, but he lost the iconic ship to Solo in a game. Despite the somber circumstances, Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) will either be captain or Lando (Billy Dee Williams) will. While no one can ever replace Han, the Falcon will ride again as a smuggler's ship once the war is over.

Force Synergy Will Finally Be Achieved

When we think of the overall themes of the Star Wars films, it was always a fight between the light and the dark. The Jedi and Sith continuously at war to see the eradication of the other. The sequel trilogy explored a familiar dimension only previously explored by Luke, forge your own path with the Force.

A prevalent theme in The Last Jedi is Kylo telling Rey to let the past die and reminding her they're not so different. Upon learning the truth of the Jedi through their texts, Luke exiled himself knowing pride is what caused the downfall of their order. Most stories teach us light must always prevail over the dark. The lesson was repeated throughout the films.

RoTJ created a happy ending where the light prevailed over the dark, but the events since then the dark rise again. It's a cycle that's destroying the galaxy from within. Breaking the cycle will take both Rey and Kylo to come to a resolution. It will be an ending many will be upset with, but makes sense. There will be one, most likely Rey, who will be able to control the light and the dark becoming a Gray Jedi. The one who controls both will not be made a pawn of the Resistance or the First Order.

The main question then becomes what influence the Gray Jedi has over the universe? Will they be their own faction and return to their position as overseers of the galaxy, but not under the influence of the Republic? To keep watch to make sure no one ever gets too powerful.

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